Snap on multiple section hair beads

ABSTRACT

This bead snaps onto the hair instead of having to use a tool or to thread each bead individually. A one-peace barrette appears on the hair as if it is three or four individual bead.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The live hinge and the ball and socket used in our beads are not new tothe field of hair barrettes. There are many hair barrettes that use thistype of mechanism. The hair barrette we intend to produce can be usedand made with or without the live hinge.

Hair beads today come in the form of one single bead which must bethreaded on to the hair using a tool, or two beads strung together on arubber band that must be tied to the hair.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

As a mother of six children, three boys and three girls, CharleneRedmond spent hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars grooming herdaughter's hair. The bulk of her grooming time was spent on combing,braiding and styling the girls hair. Both Charlene and her daughtersstarted many school days and workdays hoping for an easy solution toachieving the lasting hair fashion trend that did not result in tearsshed by all of them.

Over time, they began to dread the daily routine of hair grooming. Theypreferred corn-roll braids with a bead and rubber band on the end sincethis style last one to two weeks. The problem was that the style ofchoice took, on average, two hours per child. Multiplied by three girls,Charlene spent most Saturdays braiding her daughter's hair.

Braiding was not the problem, however, braiding using the traditionalneedle and thread approach consumed most of the grooming time. From thisagony the Snap on Multiple Section Hair Bead, or kwick Beads, was born.Kwick Beads take the traditional bead threading process and replaces itwith a bead barrette. Therefore, customers can enjoy the convenience ofthe threaded fashion with the snap of a barrette. Braided hairstyleswith fine hair tend to unravel. Kwick Beads can be used to hold thehairstyle in place.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

I have included fifteen drawings with a description of how the sectionsinteract with each other.

FIG. 1, is a three dimensional view of a bead in the open position.

FIG. 2 is a view of a bead half open looking through one end.

FIGS. 3 and 4, is a bead closed front and rear view with FIG. 4 showingthe live hinge.

FIG. 5, is an open view of a bead with hair braid going through it. Italso shows the ball and socket closing mechanism and live hinge.

FIG. 6 shows beads in a marketable bag.

FIG. 7 shows beads on a person's hair.

FIG. 8 shows a different shaped bead rear view in the closed positionand in three dimensions.

FIG. 9, is a closed front view of that same bead front

FIG. 10 is a three dimensional view of FIGS. 8 and 9 in the openposition which also shows the ball and socket mechanism and the livehinge.

FIG. 11 is an open view of a bead showing the grove for the hairplacement in a round shaped bead.

FIGS. 12 and 13 is a heart shaped bead. FIG. 12 a closedthree-dimensional view, FIG. 13 a closed rear view.

FIGS. 14 and 15 are views of a tube shaped bead, open and closed. FIG.14 showing the back with live hinge and FIG. 15 open, three dimension.

The components of the bead are:

A. bead body

B. socket

C. ball

D. live hinge

E. bead hole

F. hair

A left and right bead body, FIG. 1 a, is held together by three or fourlive hinges, FIG. 1 d. When hair, FIG. 5 f, are placed through the beadhole, FIG. 5 e, on one-half section of the bead body, FIG. 5 a, theother half section of the bead body is folded over to engage the ball,FIG. 1 c, and socket mechanism, FIG. 1 b, together which holds the hairbetween and through both ends of the bead hole, FIG. 5 e. When closedand snapped, the two body halves look like a string of beads.

A person does not have to spend a long amount of time threading eachseparate bead, one at a time, but can snap on three or four beads atonce in the fraction of the time it takes to thread one bead thuseliminating all the tedious work of threading. With each section ofbeads, the user may place as many sections on the bread as desired andin what ever color, size and shape the beads are made in.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With this bead, I wanted to provide a condition that, the user wouldlike to use, was less stressful and tedious, would give the same resultsas the single threaded bead, easy to take off, protect breads fromcoming loose, make hairstyle last longer, and more importantly, takeless time and need no tools.

Unlike a single bead, the bead I invented is three or four beadsconnected together end to end, split in half with three or four livehinges connected to the two halves that allows the sections to open andclose. To keep the two halves closed on the hair, a ball and socketlatch are used along with a grove down the center of the connected beadhalves to provide a placement for the hair bread.

The process of making the bead is the same as with most of the beadsthat are on the market today that is by the injection mold method. Themolds are made from a block of steel or aluminum. The mold can be assmall as one or two cavities or as large as fifty or one hundred ormore. The block of metal has the cavities cut out of it in the shape ofthe bead or barrette. The mold may be in one or two parts depending onwhatever the shape or design of the peace. The one or two peace mold isthen placed into an injection machine where heated plastic is injectedinto the mold, filling the cavities forming the bead or barrette. Aftercooling for a short time, the machine is opened and the parts fall outor the machine pops them out.

Sequence listing: does not apply.

1. What we claim as our invention is a snap on multiple section hairbead which: Sets vertically on the hair with a live hinge. Comes indifferent shapes sizes, and colors. Snaps onto hair without use of atool. Looks likes an individually treaded bead.